This is Your Life
by My Brighter Darkness
Summary: Jackson had three rules Rule One: Never harm anyone needlessly. Rule Two:Women and Children are off limits. Rule Three: Never become attatched. A day by day blow of Jackson's eight weeks following Lisa.
1. Sunday:Day One

This is Your Life Day One 

Jackson Rippner could still hear the sound of his mother screaming, the remnants of a reoccurring dream. _Stupid therapist, _Dr Lechunga had assured him that his much-needed vacation, along with his new medication, would ensure that the nightmares went away. He was now a month into his year off work and the nightmares had only gotten worse. Jackson slowly rolled out of bed and onto the soft-carpeted ground as his cell phone began to ring.

He growled and slammed his fist down on the small in table next to where his cell phone sat vibrating. For a moment, Jackson debated ignoring it and simply moving onto breakfast; the ringing stopped for about five minutes and then started again. _They send me away and then call me back! _"Rippner," he snapped pressing the cell phone to his ear.

"There has been a change of plans," the smooth voice of his nameless and faceless employer drifted from the phone to his ear. "In the state your in, you won't be of use for much longer."

"So what?" Jackson fell back on the bed and rubbed his eyes, "You want me to commit suicide?" Nobody retired from his line of work at his age unless it was in a body bag.

"No," the man on the other side of the phone chuckled, "You're lucky, we're able to cut you a deal; one last job and you're a free man."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he said groggily as he worked his way into a sitting position without the use of his hands. "A free man at my age means a dead man…"

"Not this time, Rippner, you see, we've got a girl here who is essential to our plans, and she needs some… managing."

Jackson debated this for a moment as he poured himself a glass of scotch, "I don't handle woman, you know my rule about women and children." He said taking a sip of his drink and wincing.

"Well, Jackson, that's just to fucking bad. This plan is bigger then you would ever dream of, Rippner, and if it's botched you're won't ever see the light of day again." Jackson clenched his jaw but refused to answer the man, "I'm sorry; I didn't realize I wasn't speaking English. I'll repeat: you are taking the job and if you fail, you die. Clear?"

"Crystal." Was Jackson's short reply, "Send the file over."

"Don't worry, it should be there any moment," Jackson's gaze flicked to the door of his condominium as the sound of someone knocking caught his attention. "You have eight weeks for observation and then you must execute the orders inside the folder."

"I need less then a week," he said as cradled the phone between his shoulder and head so her could sign for his package. Jackson nodded his thanks to the UPS man and closed the door.

"Want and need are two different things, you did not _want _to kill your father however you _needed _to kill him, didn't you?" Jackson clenched his jaw and tossed the package onto his bed before he reached for a shirt.

"That's none of your concern."

"Indeed, Rippner, indeed, but judging from the picture I have with me here, you will _want _eight weeks of observation."

"I don't do that sort of thing," he set his shirt down and debated hanging up his employer so he could put it on.

"Consider it a retirement gift, bye-bye, Jackie."

Jackson growled as the line went dead. He tossed the phone onto his bed beside the brown package he had just received; shrugging his dress shirt on, he made quick work of his buttons before he acknowledged the package again. For a moment, he thought about going about his business and dealing with it tomorrow, _the sooner I start, the sooner I finish. _He mused as he picked up the package and tore it open; holding it upside down, a red folder fell onto his bed.

Four papers fell from the folder and scattered across his comforter. He gingerly picked up one the papers and scanned through it to find the address of his new 'Partner' for the next eight weeks plus. A smirk graced his lips as he realized that she only resided two streets from him.

**xXx **

Jackson could hear the sounds of a woman laughing as his new job stepped from a small black BMW and onto the sidewalk in front of her house.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Lisa." One of the women from the car called as they pulled away from the curb, Lisa smiled and watched them disappear. The moment the car turned the corner, her smile faded and was replaced with a looked of anguish before she turned and continue towards her house. Jackson tapped his index finger on the steering wheel in front of her, could she have been faking a happy emotion?

Because it was only the first day on the job, he had not bugged her house yet. Jackson smirked and turned back to her house.

"Hello, Miss Lisa, I'm Jackson and it's a _pleasure _to meet you."


	2. Monday:Day Two

**This is Your Life  
Day Two **

He could not put his finger on it, but something was a miss about the man that seemed just a little too happy to be talking to Lisa Reisert. The man could not have been much older then Lisa herself, but with the way that he leaned over the hotel counter to get a better look at her made Jackson want to rip the mans' eyes out. Early in his life, Jackson had set a rule to always respect women. He had therefore dodged any jobs that had included 'Managing' women or children.

Jackson slowly put his paper down on the seat beside him and stood up. Sunglasses perched on his nose and a hot cup of coffee in his hand. Pretending not to have seen the guy, he bumped into the mans side, Jackson's coffee cup _accidentally _slipped from his hand and the hot liquid soaked the mans back causing him to come out of his leaning position.

"You!" he shouted throwing his fist at Jackson face. Jackson heard Lisa gasp as he dodged it and stepped aside so the man could run away like a scared dog with his tail between his knees.

"Thank you," Lisa said gratefully as Jackson turned to face her. "So, how can I help you?"

"I was actually hoping for a suite, what do ya, say…" he leaned forward and read her name tag. "Lisa, got any open?"

"Just one second," she held up her finger and went to work on her keyboard with her right hand. "We have one open as of now," she declared reaching under the counter and producing a piece of paper and a pen, "Sign the bottom of the paper and you're all set." Jackson quickly signed the paper and slid it back to her with the pen on top, Lisa looked at the paper and reached under the counter again, "Okay, Mr. Robertson, you are in suite forty-eighty, please enjoy your stay." Lisa said in that To-perky-to-be-a-real-emotion voice that her boss made everyone use, God he hated that voice, and judging by the look on her face, so did she.

Jackson nodded gratefully and took the key from her as he shuffled towards the elevators. He had not jeopardized his job, had he? Of course not! Lisa would never remember him eight weeks from now, the most recognizable part of him was his eyes, and they were covered up. Jackson continued to repeat this line of thinking in his head as he made his way to his room, the same room that his company was going to blow up in less then two months.

**xXx **

Jackson's hands were quickly typing away at the laptop in front of him as he watched Lisa Reisert through the security feeds on the laptop next to him. She was by far the most interesting person he had ever followed before; she would be smiling and laughing until she thought no one was looking. Then her smile would quickly fade and would be replaced by a look of anguish and pain, and the moment the phone would ring again, the smile would appear. Jackson found himself laughing one time when her father had called and she had forgotten to put the smile on again, of course, dear old dad had known something was wrong and the two had gone into a wrestling match of the words as she tried to convince him that nothing was wrong.

Daddy had wound up winning this round and she moved off to the bathroom and out of earshot of his camera while she let her father in on what was troubling. Jackson had been very disappointed; he wanted to know so badly, what had been plaguing her mind.

By one in the afternoon, Jackson grew extremely bored. While the woman was interesting, she was very boring at the same time, Lisa had not even stopped to take a lunch break until her friend Cynthia forced her away from the counter and to the restaurant inside the building. Jackson frowned and quickly went back to typing at his keyboard trying to locate another camera closer to her. He did not have to watch her that closely, but he had nothing better to do until this job was finished.

The laptop in front of him beeped and the screen filled up the new security feed. Lisa was glaring at her friends back as she plopped into a seat at the bar. One of the two waiters who worked there came up and requested her order.

"Can I just have a glass of water?" she asked with a smirk. The man shook his head sadly and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Leese, but Cynthia said to make sure that you eat something." Lisa opened her mouth to speak again, "No, toast does not count."

Lisa sat back in her chair for a moment and thought, "Look, Jason, I really just need to get back to work, could you just let it slide this once?" The waiter shook his head again.

"I care about you just as much as Cynthia does; you've been working yourself to the bone for the last _two years! _I think you can take a small break and eat something for once," there was a short pause and neither spoke. "Besides scrambled eggs."

She sighed and slumped in her chair, "Surprise me." The waiter laughed,

"Will do, Miss Manager.'

The waiter moved off to the kitchen and left Lisa all alone. She lifted her head and gazed at the door for a few moments before her face brightened and she reached for the bag she had managed to snatch when Cynthia forced her away from her work. Opening it, she produced a laptop. Jackson tapped at the keyboard again and the camera zoomed in until he could see her computer screen clearly. He smirked when he realized she was logging onto a chat site.

Jackson smirked and closed his laptop; he had seen enough for one day and needed to get some excitement. As he stood from his seat, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. He smiled as he dialed the number and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" A heavily accented voice greeted him.

"Hello, Margret, I was wondering if I could Aaron?" he asked.

"Yes, let me go get him, I think he's trying to win king of the sand box."

"That sounds like him," Jackson laughed.

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the phone and then a loud "DADDY!" before Aaron came on the phone. "Daddy, what are doing?"

"I'm at the hotel working, remember?"

"Oh, yes," Aaron giggled and Jackson smiled again, _so much like your mother. _

"Listen, hot rod, I'm getting terribly bored down here, what do you say I come pick you up early we go see about getting you some ice cream?"

Aaron squealed, "Yes! Yes! Please, Daddy? Please?"

Jackson laughed, "Be ready, cause' I'm on my way."

**xXx **

Jackson was making a load roaring sound as he held Aaron above his head and ran through the condominium and into a small power ranger decorated room. The little boy laughed and shrieked when Jackson threw him onto the bed with growl.

"Now it's time for you to get to sleep," Jackson took hold of the blanket on the floor and dove onto the bed, effectively trapping Aaron beneath it.

"Awe, c'mon dad!" he whined when he managed to wiggle out from under the blanket and Jackson smiled at him. With Aarons blue eyes and brown hair, he was a mini-me of Jackson Rippner. Aside from the freckles that he got from his mother.

"No, it's time for bed." He reached out and threw the blanket over the little boy again, only this time he gently grabbed the top of the blanket and brought it down so that he could see the little boys face.

"Daddy? What do you do at your job?"

Jackson thought for a moment before he sat on the bed next to his son. "You see, Aaron, I can call you Aaron right?"

"Of course, Daddy!" he giggled.

"Well, I work for a company, and you see, my company is interested in hiring someone new, so to speak. And it's my job to observe her and see if she is right for the job. Does that make sense?"

Aaron looked up at him innocently. "You won't hurt her. Will you Daddy?"

"No, Aaron… I won't."


	3. Tuesday:Day Three

**This is Your Life  
****Day Two**

"Daddy, can I go to work with you today?" Aaron asked as he poured himself a large bowl of Coco Puffs.

Jackson watched him curiously from his position at the counter. A blue coffee cup in his right hand and newspaper in his left hand, "Why would you want to do that? It's all boring."

"It can't be that boring," Aaron said through a mouthful of cereal. Jackson thought for a moment, _I could be pulled off the job just for telling him about it. _

A smile quickly spread across Jackson's face, "I guess you could come, but you have to listen to me, alright?" The little boy nodded, but because he was little his body went back and forth when he did so. "Go get ready then."

"Yay!" Aaron shouted as he jumped from the couch and ran from the room.

**xXx **

"Okay, now, Aaron," Jackson began as he lifted the child up and then set him down one of the many chairs in the lobby. "I'm just going to sit here and use my computer; do you want to draw or something?"

"Yes," he sighed.

Just as Jackson opened his mouth to respond, his cell phone went off. "Hold on just a second, don't go anywhere okay?" Aaron nodded and Jackson quickly moved off just as a woman walked into the lobby.

Her curly auburn hair bounced with every step and Aaron immediately forgot his father's words as he stood from his seat and rushed to the woman. Aaron fell into step with her for a few moments, but she did not seem to notice, so he reached up and tugged on her sleeve. This time she looked down.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Aaron nodded, "Are you an angel?"

The woman smiled. "Not last time I checked, why do you ask?"

"You're so pretty; Jesus must have made you really special." He said, "I'll bet you're smart to? And you like video games?"

"Yes, I suppose I do." She bent down to his level so they could talk more easily.

"My daddy does to, he really like video games. And he's really smart and my mommy used to tell me that he was reaaaaaallly handsome."

"Well, where is your mommy?"

Aaron bowed his head, "She's dead."

The woman placed a hand to her heart, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, she was sick. But back to my dad, he's single now, are you single?" she nodded, "Good, are you planning on getting married anytime soon?" she shook her head. Aaron thought for a moment, "Would you consider dating someone if the guy was really nice and would never even think about hurting a woman?"

"Are you always this nice to woman, or am I just a special occasion?" she laughed.

"Daddy says that you should always be nice to woman," Aaron grinned.

"Did your dad by any chance send you over here?"

"No," he shook his head, "My dad was talking on the phone and told me to stay in my seat, but then you came in and I decided I could talk to you."

She thought for a moment, "How do you know I'm not some creep that your father doesn't want you talking to?"

"You're not." He said confidently as he sat down in front of her, crossing his legs Indian style. "My dad has a lot of really weird friends, if you were a creep I would know."

The woman cocked her head and examined him for a moment, "What's your name?"

"Aaron, what's yours?"

"Lisa," she offered her hand and he shook it firmly. "And no offense to your father, but I'm just not really interested in dating right now. Let alone getting married, okay?"

"Okay," he sighed sadly.

"Aaron!" Lisa stood to see a man standing across from them in the lobby. She tried to get a good look at him, but his hat and sunglasses obscured his facial features.

"I need to go," Aaron said as he quickly made it to his feet. He waved goodbye to Lisa and shuffled off.

**xXx**

"Daddy, I was only saying hi!" Aaron complained as they stepped out of the elevator. Jackson looked down at him through the corner of his sunglasses.

"But I told you to stay where I left you, and you didn't listen," they approached door 4080 and Jackson pulled out his key card. Sliding it through the lock, the small machine beeped and Aaron pushed the door open, shoving his way into the room before his father.

Jackson watched from his position at the door as the little boy quickly did a run down of the suite. He ran up the stairs and glanced around the small room up there; he ran out to the deck and examined the view. After almost fifteen minutes, Aaron collapsed on the large white couch laughing.

"This is so awesome, daddy! Can we live here?" he exclaimed as he propped himself up against a pillow and kicked off his shoes exposing two white socks on his little feet.

"No, we can't, Aaron."

Jackson slowly walked over to the table where his laptop was sitting closed and turned off. He gave a sideways glance at Aaron as he opened the computer and pushed the power button. The laptop beeped to life and Aaron suddenly jumped up from the couch and ran to his side.

"Can I help you play on the computer?" he asked peeking over the edge of the table to watch the blue Microsoft start up screen.

"Aaron, I'm not playing, I'm working."

"Oh," Aaron said disappointed. "Can I help you work?"

"Not this time, kiddo, you see. This is _very _important, and if I mess something up, it could cost me my job."

"And we don't want that, do we, dad?"

"No," Jackson smiled and shook his head. "We don't want that at all."

Aaron sighed again, a habit that was quickly getting on Jackson's nerves. "Why don't we want that?"

"Well… because…" he trailed off as he tried to think of an answer that wouldn't involve the mention of what he was really doing. "I don't like people mad at me, cause when people are mad at you, they tend to make your life very unpleasant."

"And if you lose your job, they'll be mad at you?"

"Yes… very… very mad…"


	4. AN

**Dear Readers-**

**As most of you know, I am pausing all of my RED EYE fanfics for the summer. My family will be moving this summer and I'm going to have people down all the time, so it will just be easier for me to put them on hold and then start them again after summer.  
Also by then, I hope to be on my way to publishing 'Pet.'**

**Also, I have some people ask me about the name a sign off as, Nina Rippner. Yes, I sign off with my reall name, on my Youtube and LiveJournal, I kinda play like I'm Jackson's daughter just for kicks.**

**-Nina Rippner-**


End file.
